The Compromise
by Timeloopy
Summary: A little one shot where Sawyer tries to ensure Juliet's happiness. The plane didn't crash.


People mill around him in the airport and he searches the faces for the one he hopes to see. Those blue eyes that have haunted him for the last year. The porcelain skin that his fingers ache to touch. The frame of wavy blonde hair that she straightens even though he secretly liked her curls though he never said so. Why didn't he say so? Did he know even then that she was insecure about the other woman's curls?

He shouldn't be here with airport security being what it is, but even the few moments he would have had to wait for her to get to the baggage claim seemed too long. So he bought two tickets for a flight to Atlanta because there's always a flight to Atlanta from this part of the country. The tickets won't be used but you have to have a ticket to access the gate area where she'll disembark. He'd have flown to Sri Lanka if he'd been able to arrange things in time but he couldn't so Miami will have to do.

"Daddy, I'm hungry," Clementine tugs at his sleeve and normally he'd stop everything and go buy her whatever she wanted but he's afraid he'll miss his target if he moves.

"Here," he says thrusting a broken candy cane into his child's hand. It's a little melted from his jacket pocket but it's all he has at the moment. The parental guilt sets in and he looks away from the gate. "We'll get whatever you want on the way home, baby."

The five year old wrinkles her nose at his offering but picks away the plastic and licks at it tentatively. She shrugs and pops the candy cane in her mouth – it's candy at least and her mother doesn't usually let her have candy. It's one of the nice things about having a daddy now. The candy.

When he looks up, she's coming through the breezeway rolling a tan suitcase on wheels. The navy business suit hugs her body and he's taken with how professional she looks. She's polished and cool. Her hair is swept up into a French twist and the only evidence of her curls today is the damp frizz that has slipped from the bobby pins that hold it in the back. Only someone who knows her well would recognize the little girl delight in her eye as she steps onto the blue carpet that for her signifies home.

She walks right past him toward the baggage claim and he follows her with his daughter in tow.

He pauses in the baggage claim area and she turns and walks toward him. His heart skips a beat as her smile broadens and he almost says her name. But he stops himself in time and she walks past him into the arms of a shorter woman with darker hair holding a small boy by the hand. He looks about Clementine's age he thinks though he's not much of a judge of children's ages. He can see the tears streaming down both women's faces.

She's so happy that he can feel the corners of his own eyes growing damp with emotion. This is what she always wanted – what she dreamed of and schemed for – what she even killed for. To come home to her sister. To see the little boy that she'd helped bring into the world.

He feels a hand on his shoulder and turns to see another familiar face – one that dredges up memories less pleasant but this is the face he sought out to make all this happen.

"I kept my end of the deal," Benjamin Linus's voice is cold and syrupy and makes Sawyer's skin crawl a little. Sawyer lifts his daughter to his shoulder turning his body so that Clementine is both as far from Ben as possible and while remaining safely in her father's arms.

Sawyer extends the briefcase he holds. Inside is everything he remembers about the freighter and it's crew. Everything he knows about the Dharma Initiative and time travel. There's a list of the original passengers of Flight 815 save a few – he couldn't bring himself to turn Claire, Hurley or Kate over to the mad man. The last time he'd heard from them they had troubles enough of their own making.

"You'll leave her alone, now." Sawyer says gripping the handle of the case firmly as Ben makes to take it from him. "You and your people will leave her the hell alone."

In his arms, the child's eyes widen. Her father generally makes an effort to refrain from strong language around her. It's one of the many rules her mother made when he came back into their lives.

"We made a deal. In exchange for your information, I released her from her contract. I allowed her to leave the island and go home. But there was another side to the deal. If I can't have her, neither can you."

Ben's eyes glint in the artificial fluorescent light that beams down on them from above.

"I just want her to be happy. I love her enough to let her go if it means her happiness." Sawyer's words are measured. He doesn't want to anger the man. Just wants him to go home to his damn island and leave the people he cares about alone.

He can see it in the man's eyes. Ben wants to own her, but his desire to own the power of the island overshadows even his obsession with Juliet.

"It's agreed. What would I want with a woman who'd settle for you anyway," Ben snaps. Sawyer releases the case as Ben jerks it away and the smaller man stumbles.

"I don't like him," Clementine whispers into Sawyer's ear as Ben strides away. "He's mean."

Secretly, Sawyer agrees with his daughter but he doesn't want her to grow up in a world of fear. He swings her down and tosses her in the air though she's almost too big for that. She giggles and he can't help but laugh too.

He catches Juliet smiling at them as she whispers something to her sister that makes her laugh. And as she walks through the automatic doors and out into the Miami sunshine, he feels a deeper peace than he's ever felt before.

His cell phone rings and he sets his daughter down and puts it to his ear.

"Hey Jack."

"Yeah, I just handed it off to him."

"She looked good. She looked happy."

"Yeah, I think she's going to be okay. I've got Clem for the rest of the week then we'll meet and talk about the next step. We'll get that bastard yet."

Clementine tugs on his jacket and he throws Jack a quick goodbye and stuffs the phone in his pocket.

"That's two swears Daddy. But I won't tell mommy if we can have pizza for dinner."

Sawyer kneels in front of his daughter and tugs lightly on her curls.

"That, young lady, is blackmail."

Clementine shrugs and crosses her small arms across her chest.

Sawyer shakes his head and takes her small hand.

"What do you like on your pizza, my tiny blonde scam artist?"

"Cheese, please."

"Cheese it is. O daughter o mine. . .cheese it is."

_Author's Note: Read and review much appreciated. Just a little one-shot I had in mind while my mind spins around the mechanics of the con in the other story. _


End file.
